UND Awarded Coveted Spot as Part of Federal UAS Initiative

May 15, 2015

The U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today announced that the University of North Dakota (UND) John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences (Odegard School) will be an integral part of a national research system whose goal is to safely integrate unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the National Airspace.

The Odegard School established an early lead in the UAS sector, with the world's first degree program in UAS operations and a state-endorsed UND Center of Excellence in UAS Training, Research, and Education .

The FAA selected the ASSURE team, led by UND Aerospace and Mississippi State University, as the Center of Excellence (COE) for researching that UAS integration. ASSURE (Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence) comprises more than a dozen of the world's leading research universities with an increasing number of leading UAS industry partners.